There are many things to look forward to these days. While things haven’t worked out as I had planned for my retirement, there are still many things that go right.

The good thing is that I can still do many of the things I used to be able to do. If good balance and being able to see clearly is what is required, I’m not able.

But there are things I can still do quite well. My brain still functions even though many of the nerves in it are shot and aren’t growing back.

I will apologize right now if I don’t wave at you on the street. Most likely I can’t see you. Although I am gradually taking a pill that is supposed to help with movement.

My eye muscles do not move correctly which causes quite a few problems.

It is harder to type this column because my eyes don’t move up and down like they are supposed to. I am looking into using an app or rather a plug-in or extension that Google has called speech to text. My speech is much quieter now and I am hoping I can turn up the volume so it can hear me okay. Nancy has trouble understanding me now so I’m not sure that Google will either.

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I am very glad that Hillsboro Hospital is still open and they have the pain clinic with Vikki Gambrill, who has done wonders with my back pain from the nine falls I have had in the past four months.

With the new machine they just got, she can see just where to put the medicine with the needles.

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Thanks to all who came to the Farmer’s Market this past Thursday to look at and buy my Nonsense books.

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It took three days to do it but Nancy and I took off the front screen door this past week and painted the trim and sill the house color.

The doorbell button was shot so we replaced it too—it has a light on it!

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A crazy thing just happened to my Xerox printer I got for my home office this past December.

All of a sudden it quit printing and every sheet that went in jammed. I called Xerox and they arranged for a repairman to come out.

I think he represented a company Xerox hired to make repairs on their machines. Xerox sent a part in advance of his arrival which he needed. I had printed only 1,000 copies and the feed rollers were shot he said.

When he replaced the rollers it fed paper again.

But my third party replacement cartridges when run on this machine aren’t recognized. Xerox puts chips in their cartridges so theirs are the only ones that will run on their printers.

An ordeal I don’t want to go through again. My re­pairman said you would be surprised by what they try to do with new machines.

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If you wish to share your comments or ideas, my e-mail address is joel@hillsborofreepress.com.